Marc Sirkin's Mindnumbing Thoughts

Just finished reading " The New Digital Age " which had me thinking of picking up my original copy of " Being Digital " to compare and contrast. Maybe later. It's a good book, thoughtful and smart but at times a bit out there. I wanted to capture here some stats they throw in to set the stage for their assumptions, all stuff we know but it's more good data you can use and quote. The book focuses on BIG issues around digital - statehood, terrorism, politics, society etc... worth a read but it is dense. I admit, I flipped past some of the sections on statehood and politics. Number of people connected to the Internet worldwide increased from 350 million to more than 2 billion In the same period, the number of mobile-phone subscribers rose from 750 million to well over 5 billion (it is now over 6 billion) By 2025, the majority of the world's population will, in one generation, have gone from virtually no access to unfiltered information to accessing

Previously posted on Medium , reposted here. I blog so infrequently, I figure I need to repurpose as much content as I can! (Photo by Marc Sirkin, Utah Mountains 2013) Even before mobile/smartphones I was bad; sneaking away to check email, reading business books or memos while on the beach, working on proposals or ideas at the pool. All behaviors of someone who would rather lose himself in work, instead of being present with family, focusing on clearing the mind and having a good time. Over the past few years I’ve improved my efforts to disconnect. I did however notice that it would take 2 or 3 days to fully disconnect. Similar to an addict, I’d have dreams about work, fanatically check in and have to almost physically restrain myself from replying to emails. It was bad, very bad. I’d come back from work up to date, but feeling like I hadn’t even had time off. As my kids grew older, it became more and more important to disconnect from work and get focused on my family and fri

If you've been reading my blog (sorry it's been dormant for so long) it's time yet again for me to leap to the next thing. For the last 3.5 years I've immersed myself in the autism world learning more than I ever thought possible. Up until last week, I had been leading teams at Autism Speaks in social media, fundraising, marketing, IT, direct mail and CRM. I've been a busy bee. First and foremost, I learned that autism is really, really complicated. Pick any one thing about it (take causes for example) and you'll find significantly different viewpoints from a variety of corners of the community. I deeply connected with all parts of the community; parents, children, adults, researchers, caregivers, teachers and more. Beyond any of the other causes I've been involved in, autism got under my skin in some incredible ways. I feel deeply for those on the spectrum and for their loved ones who are must struggle to understand and cope with whatever comes from